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#UNC coach Courtney Banghart, guard Reniya Kelly and wing Alyssa Ustby after 119-43 win over NCCU
Nov 29, 2024
#UNC coach Courtney Banghart, guard Reniya Kelly and wing Alyssa Ustby after 119-43 win over NCCU
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0:00
um yeah what a great great opportunity
0:05
uh to bring our team back after uh we've
0:07
been gone for the last few games um feel
0:09
like we've made a lot of progress as a
0:11
group um and I thought we proved it not
0:13
only our first group getting more and
0:15
more comfortable together getting more
0:17
disciplined defensively but then our
0:18
second group and third group and kind of
0:20
the rest of our committee um bringing
0:21
their peace you know we I I thought it
0:24
was lopsided pretty early um and I I
0:27
really praise our guys for respecting
0:28
the game and respecting our journey to
0:30
stay uh locked into our process and um
0:33
we a lot of good things came from it
0:35
obviously shout out to we got two double
0:37
doubles we got everybody who played
0:38
scored almost rebounded um but lots of
0:42
good things happened
0:43
today how do you approach the K like or
0:46
you know it's an overmatch to and and
0:50
yeah I think we speak in truths right
0:53
you know I think that's really important
0:54
and so we talked about how good teams
0:57
beat good teams and good teams have to
0:59
sort of um go out and Hammer teams that
1:01
they're better than um and so I you know
1:05
I was pretty honest with them about what
1:06
I thought what thought was going to
1:07
happen but they got to determine how it
1:09
happened and I thought they took care of
1:10
that today you was I guess early in the
1:13
season there were a couple games that
1:15
maybe you can go your way what's what's
1:16
turned around for you uh last couple of
1:19
games but and tonight we the point
1:21
minute double double M yeah I would just
1:24
say continuing to buy into the process
1:26
and keep coming to practice with the
1:28
attitude that I'm going to get better at
1:30
different finishes and just trusting um
1:33
trusting my teammates and just
1:35
continuing to play Within the flow of
1:36
how we want to play offense because I
1:39
know ultimately then I'm going to get
1:40
the ball in places that I like to score
1:42
from and then in turn I can also help my
1:45
teammates get better looks as well so
1:47
it's kind of a it's a two-way street a
1:49
lot of smiles on on the faces of all you
1:52
guys during this game it's fun game yeah
1:55
definitely a fun game we all had a blast
1:57
and we're just a group that enjoys being
1:59
around each other let alone playing uh
2:02
for the same team and on the for the
2:03
same coach so we all really appreciate
2:05
the opportunity and we'll never take a
2:07
game for
2:08
granted so um anyone can answer but kind
2:12
of what was different about the offense
2:13
today was sort of like a defensive
2:15
emphasis on the past three games not
2:17
necessarily scoring as much was what was
2:20
the emphasis in practice was anything
2:21
kind of different um after
2:23
Battlefield um yeah I would say pace I
2:26
think the pace um of our offense was
2:28
very poor in the last few games I I
2:29
think we really wanted to focus on that
2:31
and it opens up a lot of different
2:32
options so that what we really worked
2:35
on I think also we cleaned up some
2:37
screen
2:38
angles um you know Alyssa draws a lot of
2:41
attention deservedly so right um and you
2:45
know I think for her to she played
2:47
better and quicker uh was quicker with
2:49
the ball um as well um and I thought Ria
2:53
really managed the game really well she
2:54
was able to get not only we were able to
2:56
play fast but we were also a able to
2:58
play fluidly when we were playing
3:00
against a set defense because um she
3:02
didn't hold it long you know so um I
3:05
thought tactically these guys are just
3:07
growing together I mean that's a little
3:09
bit there's a lot of experience but them
3:10
getting a chance to play together with
3:12
Maria back I think was also part of it
3:15
and how do you think kind of like
3:16
Maria's return and sort of like this was
3:18
kind of like a game of runs um in terms
3:21
of like individual players how do you
3:22
think that kind of um impacted like the
3:24
offensive flow of this game I mean you
3:27
guys play with her yeah Maria is just a
3:29
for to be reckoned with and we're so
3:32
happy every time that we're on the court
3:34
together because she she deservingly
3:37
draws a lot of attention she posts up
3:39
hard she finishes well and she's
3:41
somebody that's always bought into the
3:43
defensive game plan so playing with her
3:45
is amazing and we're just excited to
3:47
continue to have more opportunities like
3:48
that yeah and I think she needed she's
3:50
missed three games right or I don't know
3:52
if it's been more I don't actually you
3:54
know know how many she's missed but part
3:56
of it's a rhythm it's there's a rhythm
3:57
to this game right so I give these two a
3:59
lot of credit that they allowed her to
4:00
kind of find her Rhythm and and um you
4:03
know didn't require her to do more than
4:05
that in this in this one because as as
4:06
the season wears on will continue to
4:08
need a lot from her um and so you know
4:10
I'm glad she was able to get her Rhythm
4:12
a little bit today there's a it was a
4:14
lower body issue and I take it she's
4:17
probably not 100% yet I think she looked
4:19
pretty 100% I mean this time of year you
4:21
don't want to play guys that aren't 100%
4:23
really right um and so you know I think
4:26
they in the ACC during the season maybe
4:28
you've got you you're a little more beat
4:30
up but um I thought she you know I can't
4:32
speak for her but I felt like she was
4:34
looked pretty good pretty close to 100%
4:37
today about how comfortable are you
4:40
running the offense now and how much
4:42
easier is it to get shots around the rib
4:46
when you have so many three-point
4:48
Shooters available oh my God I think
4:50
this year I've had the most fun and just
4:52
been the most comfortable I've ever been
4:53
playing so I think I have so many shoes
4:56
around me and it opens up so much drive
4:58
for me and I it just great to play with
5:00
these guys and I'm so like excited to
5:01
keep playing keep pushing and keep
5:03
winning with them so it's been great
5:05
honestly nine and six had a double dou
5:07
just like so it's been great it's been
5:09
great playing with a lot of
5:11
Shooters coachable kid
5:13
too talk about two sides of shooting the
5:17
three-point shooting has really been
5:18
good LLY free throw shoo not so much uh
5:23
how do you explain that disparity yeah
5:25
you know I I'm not the one taking them
5:27
so it's very hard for me to explain them
5:29
you know um so I can pick on the two
5:31
that are here how many Alissa was three
5:33
for five R I didn't take any so in terms
5:36
of the other guys you know I'm just not
5:38
here I don't I don't know it's it's a
5:39
shot we we practice not not ridiculously
5:43
so right because they're worth one and
5:44
we'd prefer to get twos and threes um
5:46
and finishes um but I think there's an
5:49
element of um a mental aspect to free
5:52
throws that again as we continue to find
5:54
our Rhythm um I I suspect just like we
5:56
didn't shoot the ball well to start the
5:58
year I think these are are the kind of
6:00
things you hope work itself out over
6:01
time the three you you come in in the
6:03
season you had a lot of good perers
6:04
years and it was kind of slow for
6:07
everybody get the Rhythm but uh any
6:10
explanations to why it's all come
6:12
together just yeah I think the the time
6:14
the rhythm of of of an offense takes a
6:16
little bit of time I think Ria's much
6:17
more comfortable running running our
6:19
offense and so she's she makes people
6:21
feel more comfortable I think um but I
6:24
think the numbers sort of work
6:25
themselves out over time right we were
6:28
we were not a great shooting team last
6:29
year right the numbers sort of worked
6:30
themselves out over time I think uh this
6:32
is a team that when we take the right
6:34
shots I I think that those numbers will
6:35
work themselves out over time um and so
6:38
instead of taking contested twos we're
6:39
getting open threes whether that's off a
6:41
no board or through a collapse um so
6:43
we're just getting better shots and I
6:45
think with that there's just some more
6:46
fluidity to it because you know there's
6:48
a lot of new faces I mean we've got a
6:50
ton of experience in our starting lineup
6:51
and then after that basically new guys
6:54
right so there's there is some still
6:56
some Rhythm that we have to continue to
6:57
develop I thought we took huge steps
6:58
forward in the Bahamas
7:00
um and then a step forward again today
7:01
and and we've got the next opportunity
7:03
to take a step forward next and kind of
7:05
going off of that 119 points scored the
7:08
third time under you coach that um the
7:11
tar Hills have surpassed 100 points and
7:13
the most points um that you all have um
7:16
scored under you so kind of just going
7:21
off of that discuss like do you kind of
7:23
see this game as like an offensive
7:25
Turning Point like kind of going into
7:27
the rest of the season
7:30
um you know I thought we we played well
7:33
offensively uh the last game we played
7:35
too we just because we defended them so
7:38
well they took so much time with the
7:39
ball so we had less attempts right so
7:41
the pace was slower because Indiana
7:44
couldn't
7:45
even you know they could there was
7:47
multiple shot clock violations right so
7:49
I actually think our offense has gotten
7:51
better every game as has our defense um
7:53
no one will be happier than my son he'd
7:55
like us to score 100 points so he'll be
7:57
it's the first thing he'll say um but
7:59
think I do think when we really break
8:01
that game down they were our screen
8:02
angles are better uh Rah helped us play
8:05
both fast and more fluidly um Alysa was
8:08
able to able to capitalize on on her
8:10
continued Journey um so I thought we
8:13
played better offensively than maybe
8:15
that yall think in in Bahamas it's just
8:16
the game was slower because same thing
8:19
with Villanova they're in the top 10 in
8:20
Pace of play meaning they play very
8:22
slowly so it's just less possessions for
8:24
us this team was willing to play Fast
8:26
which means we got to play fast so we
8:28
had more possessions
8:30
um so I've liked our offense I feel like
8:31
we've gotten better on both ends every
8:33
game and if we keep going on that um
8:35
which I have great confidence our
8:36
leadership will ensure we do um then
8:38
then we'll just keep getting
8:39
better nice having a little break from
8:42
the tough games good series we got
8:44
Kentucky
8:45
coming um you know I don't know I think
8:48
that for me I like I like preparing for
8:50
and competing with the very best right
8:52
so that's me as a coach I I can't speak
8:55
for them and they'll speak next but um I
8:57
just like anytime they're all in the the
8:59
same team because of course in practice
9:01
which we do most I feel like sometimes
9:02
I'm just a practice coach we practice so
9:04
much right but it's it's always half of
9:06
us against half of us so I'm never super
9:08
happy because I'm either mad at the
9:09
offense or mad at the defense right uh
9:11
this type of game or when we're on the
9:13
same team I get to watch what we're
9:15
building and quiet right and and show it
9:17
out there so I just like when we play
9:19
basketball games but obviously the ones
9:21
where we have to really be our best
9:22
every minute um it's super fun that's
9:24
how I'd answer I don't know how you
9:25
answer it so was is a fifth time gone
9:28
through through there
9:30
um how's this team progressed compared
9:32
to some past years it seems like there's
9:34
there's more flow offensively than some
9:36
of the past teams you played with and
9:39
you got both weapons how did you compare
9:42
yeah this whole team down the entire
9:44
roster is super bought into our process
9:46
and we know we're not where we want to
9:48
be yet but we're taking steps every
9:50
practice and every game and in terms of
9:52
like approaching our next opponent we
9:54
want we have to make sure that we
9:56
approach every single game with like the
9:59
right intensity and we're getting better
10:01
every game so we're not lowering our
10:03
standards because we think that like
10:07
this just an opportunity that we have to
10:09
play against somebody that might be not
10:11
as good as us we can't lower our
10:12
standards so we have to continue doing
10:14
that in order to get better for our next
10:15
opponent um but yeah this group as a
10:17
whole has done so well and as a fifth
10:19
year senior and one of our captains I'm
10:21
just really proud to be a part of a
10:22
group that is having so much fun while
10:26
working their tail off every single day
10:28
and is really passionate about the game
10:29
of basketball and that makes it really
10:31
easy to look at all my teammates and go
10:34
to war with them every single game well
10:36
said it's a really fun team to coach for
10:38
that exactly for the reasons that she
10:40
said comma and they're a really fun team
10:42
to coach I understand you got a few
10:43
family members how many do you have it I
10:46
have 15 in town this world we're all
10:48
just living in it oh please yeah no
10:50
they're the best um but especially being
10:53
the last go around for college I have a
10:54
lot of extended family that's like oh I
10:57
guess we got to make it out there to one
10:58
so a lot of new faces from my family so
11:00
I'm just really grateful that they're
11:01
able to come out and support our
11:04
team great any other questions no one
11:06
from
11:08
team so all right
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